Monthly Archives: January 2013

Today’s challenge was to photograph “nature”. Now, I know a daily blog is all about instant gratification… But I’m going to ask you to wait just the same. Because I took a ton of “nature” shots at the Animal Kingdom park. The problem? They’re all on my good camera and my external hard drive. I barely touched my phone today. LOL. It was pretty amazing, even if we completely missed dinoland (kid kid was just way too scared to see dinosaurs up close and personal). We did go on safari though, which was pretty cool… And Jewles conquered her roller coaster fear on expedition Everest! All in all, an amazing day!

Crazy day today. And it’s not over yet. We’re slowly nearing the finish line though, only another hour or two of stuff left to do before we’ll be all set for our trip.

The challenge for today was “lunch”, and we grabbed it on the go while getting some running around done:

So, like I said. Another couple hours and we’ll be all set. Likely in bed sleeping by 1:00 for a 4:30 pick up in the morning. Oy! It’s gonna be a LONG day. Thankfully culminating at our arrival in DISNEY WORLD at about 9:30 tomorrow night. Exciting!

The challenge for the 25th was “something you made” and for the 26th it’s “colour”. Again hitting two birds with one stone, here’s a photograph that covers both topics:

For my fellow DIYers out there, I know you’ve seen the “play kitchens” made from old TV cabinets. Well, we created kid kid’s art center from a corner TV stand. We pulled out the dvd storage, added storage for her art supplies (they are bamboo kitchen utensil caddies), put up some of her finished art projects, and in a few hours we went from an unused, unwanted, fast-becoming-archaic piece of furniture into a desk/hutch that gets used daily.

I had a hard time coming up with a guilty pleasure to photograph. I live so wide open, and I don’t guilt myself over life’s little pleasures. If there’s something that makes me happy, even if it’s something that other people may not really understand, I’m totally okay with that. So I went to Damon, and he gave me this ‘you really have to ask’ look, and said “Your ponies!” LOL

So here are a few members of my Applejack collection:

Applejack was my most loved pony when I was a little girl. I thought she was the loveliest of all the My Little Ponies. And while she was portrayed as a bit of a klutz on My Little Pony and Friends (the 80’s tv show), she was always “Princess Applejack” to me – she ruled over all my herd with a sweet and gentle hoof. 😉 So it’s with relish that I continue collecting Applejack, and even though she’s not my favourite of the new G4, Friendship is Magic, ponies she’ll always have a special place in my heart.

Well, we are almost through January, and I’ll admit… the last few photos may pose an additional challenge – seeing as how we leave for Disney World before dawn on Monday. But I’ll get’r done (as Applejack would say).

Having one senior dog is tough, having three? It really is a lot to deal with… but I wouldn’t part with even one of our oldies. Today’s challenge was to photograph something old. I jokingly asked my husband to pose for me after telling him what my challenge for today was, obviously he turned me down. 😉 I thought about snagging a snapshot of one of our antiques… in the end though, Lily-Ann’s idea won out. Sweets wanted his supper, Brandibuck wouldn’t sit still, so Thora it was. I’ll admit, I don’t like photographing her with my iPhone. It just doesn’t do her justice. She really is a gorgeous, gorgeous dog. I have a hard time believing she’s twelve. I remember the first time I saw her in person – after her trek with the underground railroad (traveling to us relay style driven bit by bit by volunteers like ourselves) – I broke down in tears. She really was the most beautiful puppy I’d ever seen, and to this day I’ve never met her equal… not in brains, drive, beauty, or spirit. She is a dog who is unmatched in every way, and I have been so blessed to have her as part of my life.

Ready for a more-than-you-needed-to-know reveal? 😉 If not, you may want to skip this next part because we’re gonna talk FEET.

When I was a kid, I was obsessed with heels… mostly because beautiful, sophisticated women wore heels. So by the time I was twelve I was a perfectionist on the matter. I, very honestly, spent HOURS walking empty hallways perfecting the click click click of the heels as they touched the hard surface. Not too heavy, not too light, just the right rhythm. Hours. Upon. Hours. Every week. Remember the word obsessed? I wasn’t exaggerating.

Fast forward to my 29th year and pregnancy. My feet didn’t just swell a little, they BALLOONED! And by the time my thirtieth birthday hit I couldn’t even wear flip flops. The only shoes my feet could fit into were dawgs – and we’re talking the old school original dawgs, the butt ugly ones. And even those, by the end of the day would leave imprints on my feet. It was ridiculous.

Before that, I had vowed never to wear anything so nasty on my feet… but had little choice in the matter. We’re not a barefoot society, and it was either dawgs or nothing. So I sucked up what little pride I had left and got used to the idea.

I’ll admit it, I’ll never be without a pair of original dawgs again. They may be ugly as sin, but jeeze. There is no footwear out there that is more comfortable – and they are made right here in Saskatoon. Thankfully, the company has expanded and is now producing a whole line up of much better looking shoes. From sandals to boots to ballet flats to golf cleats and even reinforced work boots with firestone treads. Yep. We’ve become a dawgs family. Even Damon owns two pairs. Of course, the girl and I each own five or six different styles. LMAO But there is still nothing that can compare to a pretty pair of pumps.

I went years without owning a decent pair of fabulous heels. My feet never did quite recover from pregnancy, and while I still wear a 5/6, I now need a 5/6 W (for wide). It’s not too often you can find a pair of pumps that will fit my feet. But last month? I stumbled across the cutest pair while Mom, Jewles, Lily-Ann, and I were out thriftstore shopping. I was shocked. They are just sooo stinking cute. And while my feet are sooo not accustomed to four inch heels, I couldn’t resist them. Chances are they’ll only ever be worn outdoors once or twice a year… but I’ll admit to having worn them around the house on a few occasions already. They really do make me feel fabulous (even if they make me work in ways I’m not willing to admit to). 😉

So here they are, my very favourite pair of shoes:

my pretty, black frilly, peep toe, pumps

Now that was a fun challenge. Who’d a’thunk “your shoes” would be such a gooder. 😉

We are now one week away from our trip to WDW. Time to get all the detail work done in preparation for TEN DAYS away. Time to pack, and see if there’s anything else we need to pick up before going. Time to write up info sheets on each member of our animal family for Riki and Kate (who will be staying here, and watching over them all). Time to buy food and meds, enough to last all the dogs/cat/parrot. Time to prepare games, and activities, and toys for two days of sitting around in airports. Time to decide on our budget, and to get some American money. Time to decide what things will have priority and what will be an “if we can work it out” thing. Time to get everything in order. Time to finish sewing, time to put away other projects, time to admit I didn’t get everything done that I’d hoped to… time to start getting excited as our trip is really just around the corner.

I’ve never been to Disney World, but I did go to Disneyland when I was nine – with Gramma, Grampa Bear, and Devan. And I’ll be honest, with my memory issues I don’t remember hardly any of it. I wish I did. I was old enough that I should remember it… but there really are so few moments that made it into my emotional memory that it’s barely a blip. That makes me sad. This trip though? Even with my terrible memory, I’m sure will be one I keep with me for the rest of my days.

While the girl was at school this afternoon, Damon and I headed out to visit with Karla – our travel agent. We talked over a few things. And she put my mind at ease over a couple things I was unsure of. After hanging out in her office for about an hour and a half I really do feel set to go. Now it’s just a matter of getting all the little details arranged, then we’ll be off.

So, with that on my mind, here’s my challenge shot for today:

With the challenge being “reflection” I could have gone a few different directions… I thought about taking another snapshot of Kid Kid – and talking about how our children reflect what we put into them. But then I thought about the huge number of photos I already have on this blog of her. LOL So it occurred to me (after changing into my pjs) that I could go completely literal. So I grabbed the mirror that belonged to my paternal Grandmother, who passed when I was too young to really know her, and photographed the reflection of it’s reflection. I love this little mirror. It feels like I’ve always had it, and I always feel beautiful when I look into it – even with pjs, chipped nail polish, and damp hair. 😉

I had three completely unrelated things to share seeing how I needed to post a photo for challenge days 18, 19, and 20… but then I realized I could very honestly share a project the three of us worked on today and have it fit for all three topics. Yeah, it may be a bit of a cheat – but it’s not a huge one, especially considering I did grab snapshots on both Friday and Saturday, even if I’ve decided to only share a series of images from today. LOL

But first? First I have to share a really quick little story that is super cute and totally warmed my heart. 😀

On Friday I was over at my parents place – watching everyone so Mom could go with Dad to an out of town gig. When Marie, my sister (whom Lily-Ann is named after), got home she came upstairs as usual then asked for my attention. I stopped working on supper and looked over at her: “Yes Marie?”

“Moby.”

“Yes.”

“Moby, look.”

And with that she held up the index finger on her right hand as if to say just one second. Then she bent WAY down to where little Thor (one of my puppies from the Avenger litter whom is now my Dad’s puppy) was standing, and gave him a little pat. She then stood back up. “Moby.”

“Yes Marie?”

My sister, who has never been much of a pet person and who does her best to just ignore the other two dogs in the household, gave me a great big grin and an enthusiastic thumbs up. To which I replied “Awwww…. Marie! I’m so glad you like him. He’s a cute little guy, isn’t he?” She nodded in approval, which made me feel awfully wonderful. 😀

Okay… now onto my challenge photos. 😉

So, I need to share for something I bought, sweet, and someone I love. Well… here are the girl and her Dad working together to put up the last couple of shelves in her room (which he and I started putting up while she was out with my sister Riki earlier today). I think this series of pictures covers all three challenge topics pretty darn well.